Clinical Characteristics of Subungual Melanomas in Japan

This study reported 2 cases of subungual melanomas and analyzed, based on a questionnaire survey of 108 cases, clinical characteristics of Japanese subungual melanomas in relation to trauma history. We found (a) that subungual melanomas comprice about 10% of all cutaneous melanomas in Japan, (b) that 75% of them occur on fingers, particularly on the first finger, (c) that there is not a significant relationship between trauma history and occurrence or anatomic site of subungual melanomas, except for those of the right first finger where young males predominate and (d) that no differences exist in the histopathological types between the groups with and without trauma history. The relatively high incidence of subungual melanomas in Japanese appears to be related to genetic background and not directly to frequent exposure to trauma.